Word: oxfam
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...priced at just $140? They'd usually set you back several hundred bucks. So what's the catch? Well, most of the chichi clothes, shoes and accessories on sale at this shop are ... well, preworn. Weeks' boutique is in fact an upscale version of the ubiquitous Oxfam charity shop, a humble mainstay of Britain's shopping streets...
...Sixty years ago, Oxfam pioneered the notion of raising cash by selling donated clothes and goods from charity shops. Now it has decided the concept needs tweaking. Most of Oxfam's 730 shops across the U.K. are slightly dowdy affairs, crammed with a wide variety of used clothes, bric-a-brac, books and CDs. But the Notting Hill shop - one of three in London recently reopened as high-fashion boutiques - looks downright chic, with polished dark-wood flooring, arty light fixtures, and top-brand ladies' wear displayed on stylish wrought-iron racks. The shop also sells brand-new fair-trade...
...Oxfam is hoping its flight to fashion will boost sagging sales. In 1999, its profits hit a high-water mark of $54 million but have been sliding since, down to $20 million last year. The slump is largely due to increased competition - not only from rival charity shops, but also from discount retailers like Primark and Peacock, which sell trendy new clothes at prices nearly as low as those found in secondhand shops. Says Sarah Farquhar, Oxfam's retailing head: "We realized we needed a different clothing-business model...
...Creating specialty shops dedicated to high fashion was the natural answer. Some Oxfam regulars already knew they could often find real gems buried within the jumble of dull duds packed into ordinary shops. Oxfam had already had good success with other types of specialty stores: it has 120 used-book shops in the U.K. and recently opened five shops dedicated to selling used vinyl LPs and CDs. Farquhar says the Notting Hill shop's makeover should increase that site's revenues 100%. The boutique's average sale is $40, four times the average sale at a regular outlet. The other...
...Humanitarian Studies Initiative has already expanded significantly. Last year, Appleby said, there were 30 participants; this year there are 55. Recent program alumni hold a number of top positions in the field of public health, including the program manager and coordinator positions at the World Health Organization, Oxfam America, Save the Children, and the International Rescue Committee, according to a statement released by HHI. Lyons and Appleby, who expressed their excitement at the inclusion of students from other graduate schools, said the program hopes to incorporate undergraduates in the near future...